CHAPTER 5:
X HAS FALLEN
In 2004, the year after the release of X2, a third film was greenlit. Byran Singer was, of course, brought back to direct and a draft was written by the writers of X2. However, there was one problem... Bryan Singer wasn't really sure aboout a third X-Men. And things didn't help when Warner Bros. came in asked Bryan Singer about their Superman movie. So Bryan told WB to make the Superman reboot a sequel to the Donner films. Why? Because he decided to direct Superman. After two critical and financial hits, Bryan SInger had left the X-Men.
Suddenly, FOX was on the hunt for a new director. Alex Proyas was approached to direct. However, due to fueds he had with FOX executive Thomas Rothman when he did I, Robot, he pretty much never wanted to direct another FOX movie for a while However, FOX got the director of Layer Cake, Matthew Vaughn, to direct (Yes. THAT Matthew Vaughn). However, Vaughn ended up leaving the project. Some reports said he left due to family issues, while others say that he left because of all the pressure put on him by FOX. While Vaughn didn't direct the film, he did contribute some bug things to the film. He was actually the one who cast Kelsy Grammer as Beast, Diana Rameriz as Callisto, and (unfortunatly) Vinnie Jones as The Juggernaught (BITCH!).
So FOX turned to Brett Ratner, who they wanted to direct the first film in '96. He took over for Vaughn. Simon Kingberg was asked to write a draft, where he adapted the storylines Gifted and The Pheonix Saga. He joined forces with Zak Penn, who was writing his own draft. Also, FOX (finally) got to bring in The Danger Room (kinda), Angel (kinda), the Sentinels (kinda) & Beast. The Danger Room was supposed to be in the last two films, but were cut out. Even in this, it's in the movie for two minutes, and the only time there's a Sentinal is in the Danger Room. And they only show it's head! Also, in their script, Callisto had the power of two other characters from the comics; Calliban (who can sense other mutants) & Quicksilver (speed).
Now for casting. You know that love triangle with Iceman, Kitty, & Rogue. Well, it was supposed to be a love square as Rogue's love in the comics, Gambit, was set to appear and was to be played by Channing Tatum (I guess he really is a huge Gambit fan). However, Gambit was cut so he can be used in FOX's Wolverine spin-off. Summer Glau was supposed to play Kitty Pryde, until Ellen Page was cast in the role. When Bryan Singer was directing, the charcter Dazzler was supposed to be in the movie, and she was to be played by Beverly Manhood (what a name). Jason Flemying was supposed to play Beast until Vaughn cast Grammer. However, when Vaughn made hisown X-Men film, he cast Flemying as Azazel.
Now, let's talk about Cyclops. One of the critisims of this movie is that they killed of Cyclops in the beginning, and off-screen. So, if they did that, James Marsden would be pissed right? NO. See, the reason that they killed off Cyclops. Remember how Singer left to direct Superman? You see, when Singer left, Marsden followed...
The film was released in 2006, and to this day it still remains the highest-grossing X-Men film. However, the reviews were really mixed. Many praised the action scenes and the acting (espically Kelsy Grammer as Beast), while others critizied that the movie felt unbalenced due to throwing so many characters in the film Now before I say anything, I just want to say that I think the film is pretty decent. It has a lot of problems, but I like it. However, every X-Men fan hated this movie. Mainly because of what they did to the characters:
First, the fan-favorite Nightcrawler didn't return for this film and they gave no explanation. Then they killed off Cyclops off-screen. Then, Mystique appeared for ten seconds before Magneto shoved her to the side. Then, Jean Grey, who was supposed to become a powerful being, was pushed to the side for a subplot. Then, Angel, who people wanted to be in the movie, was in the movie for two seconds. What was worse is that he's played by an acclaimed actor. Also, people were upset that Callisto was given two extra powers. Fan-favorite Psylocke appeared as an extra. And don't even get me started on The Juggernaut (BITCH!).
BUT THE WORST PART OF X3 IS...
I CAN'T TELL WETHER THIS IS A MAN OR A WOMAN!
So FOX told the fans not to worry because the next film they were making would be a Wolverine movie produced by Hugh Jackman himself.
In 2004, David Benioff was hired to write a script after trying for three years. While trying to write the script, he decided to reread the "Weapond X" storyline. Another inspiration for the scirpt was the 2001 "Origin" miniseries. Later on, Skip Woods, writer of Hitman, was brought in to rewrite the script. These two writers wanted an "R" rating for the film, but they knew that wouldn't happen (yet). Fianlly, Scott Silver and James Vanderbilt were brought in for one last rewrite.
When FOX was looking for directors, they tried to get Zac Snyder. But he left to work on Watchmen. Brett Ratner also wanted to direct. Another person who expressed interest in returning was...
Eventually, Hugh Jackman saw the movie Totsi. He loved the movie so much that the film's director, Gavin Hood, ended up directing. Jackman wanted Hood because he drew paraells between the main character of Totsi and Wolverine.
Now for casting. Patrick Stewart made a cameo as Professor X, but under a bunch of CGI. Ryan Reynolds was supposed to make a Deadpool movie in 2003 with New Line CInema and David S. Goyer, but Reynolds left tomake Blade: Trinity. Reynolds ended up playing Wade Wilson in this film. Michelle Monaghan was brought in to play Silverfox, but she got replaced by Lynn Collins. Collins and this film's Gambit, Taylor Kitsch would go on to star in John Carter (Of Mars). Also, a younger Storm was supposed to be in this movie, but her scenes got cut.
The film was set for release on May 1, 2009. But on March 31, disaster struck. The movie got leaked online. And not only did it get leaked, but it had some nice DVD quality to go along with it. FOX was determined to find who leaked it. The FBI even got involved. Apperntly, FOX reprted that a minimum of 15 people downloaded it. A reporter of FOX NEWS reviewed the film based on the leaked footage and even encouraged people to download it. He got fired.
When the film was released, it made a decent amount of money, but it didn't get that many good reviews from the critics. Now before I go on I just want to say something. It's rare that Comic Book fans are on the same page about movies. Even X3 was split in terms of people who liked it and disliked it. But on May 1, 2009, Marvel fans everywhere simultaneously voiced their hatred for this god awful movie. And I agree. While I liked Hugh Jackman as Wolvewine, Leiv Schreiber as Sabretooth, and Ryan Reynolds in the beginning. Everything else is awful. I know people hate Fant4stic, but I think that...
THIS IS THE WORST MARVEL MOVIE MADE BY FOX!
OH YEAH, LET'S TALK ABOUT "DEADPOOL".
HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED WHY THIS DOESN'T LOOK LIKE RYAN REYNOLDS?
THAT'S BECAUSE IT'S NOT REYNOLDS.
IT'S SCOTT ADKINS.
THAT MAKES THE NEW DEADPOOL MOVIE EVEN MORE AWESOME.
WHICH IS SAYING SOMETHING.
REYNOLDS WAS NEVER DEADPOOL. HE WAS JUST WADE!
YEAH!
ALRIGHT!
THIS MOVIE SUCKS!
Anyway, FOX tried to continues the"X-Men Origins"brand by making a Magneto film with Patrick Stewart & Ian McKellan under a lot of CGI in order to look better. How did that turn out?
TO BE CONTINUED...